The Nigeria Police fits perfectly into the work of 18th century fiction writer, Charles Dickens, when he related the life of the main character in his novel “Oliver Twist,” or the Parish Boy’s Progress.
In the bestselling novel, which centres on an orphan, Oliver Twist, born in a workhouse and sold into apprenticeship with an undertaker, the writer shows that Oliver has an insatiable appetite for food. It is the same with the Nigeria Police, the large elephant that is always in need. In need of weaponry; in need of welfare for over 400,000 personnel, in need of accommodation, basic training and reorientation to cope with mordern policing strategies, and in need of better salary structure.
The Nigeria Police has come of age. It has weathered the storm of criticism from every sector of the country, includimg the President and Commander-in-Chief who, at the inauguration of some police vehicles in Abuja, charged the police leadership to change the tide, having observed the previous lapses. The President said, “I, therefore, charge the leadership of the police to continue to give new orientation to officers of the force such that they can appreciate the virtues of policing with civility and within the dictates of the law and ensure that the institution regains its position of confidence and respect from Nigerians.”
It got to a stage that even members of the public took their successes like arresting large numbers of criminals with a pinch of salt, and regarded them as fallacies and unbelievable. Even sister security agencies would distance themselves from the police during operations and disregard intelligence reports emanating from them.
Thank goodness, those gory days have been folded like a mat and dumped in the dustbin of history. However, the fact that the President personally honoured the police invitation showed that there are remarkable efforts at rectifying the rot the last Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, left. No wonder even the President, though Idris was his candidate, did not pass any good comment on his administration, neither was any positive reference made concerning his notorious years as IGP.
According to the President, “I am aware that the Inspector-General of Police inherited (an) internal security situation that was threatened by the heinous activities of bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers and other highly organised criminals in some parts of the country. The nature of these crimes affected public confidence in the capacity of the police to protect them.”
Instead, the President urged the present lGP Adamu Muhammed to forge ahead, stating thus: “I am glad to note that the leadership of the police has keyed into the Federal Government’s Next Level agenda in relation to strengthening institutional capacity towards addressing internal security challenges and advancing my vision for a civil, highly-equipped and modernised police force.”
In other words, the President is proclaiming Adamu as “his beloved son in whom he is well pleased, and not Idris who must have failed both the public, police and the President. An elated President added, “I also note the reforms being undertaken by the Inspector-General of Police as well as the strategies that he has put in place in guaranteeing the efficiency of the force. I am particularly impressed with the technology-led and intelligence-driven models, which have combined to bring about the stabilisation of security situation in the country.”
President Buhari’s remarks at the occasion are full of encouraging words. Said he, “I am confident that the strategies put in place and the quality of the leadership being provided for the current police force will bridge the gap between the citizens and the police but combine to increasingly restore public confidence and enhance the operational capacity of the police.”
When a father is impressed with the activities of his son, such a father is very open to approve every request of his Oliver Twist son. In his speech, the lGP tabled his request as expected, “It is in furtherance to this that we set out to enhance our operational capacity towards coping with the dynamics of crime. This informed the procurement within our limited budgetary resources of these operational assets.” According to the IGP, part of the policing strategies is to deploy surveillance technology in crime management operations.
The acquisition of the Police Smart Surveillance Vehicles, which are fitted with high-resolution, long-distance CCTV monitoring equipment with night electronic functionalities and are linked to the Nigeria Police National Command and Control Centre (NPF-C4i), is to achieve this purpose. The vehicles will be deployed for real-time electronic monitoring of the Abuja-Kaduna highway and other major highways and vulnerable locations across the country, as well as the electronic surveillance of NNPC pipelines in the country.
Like many security observers had noted, it is not providing equipment for the police that is the bone of contention. It is the complete absence of maintenance culture. A visit to many state commands’ workshops spread across the country portrays a sorry situation and lack of supervision of police official vehicles. It is at police workshops that you find a vehicle abandoned just because there is no tyre despite the fact that the vehicle is still functioning. Not until officers and men assigned to handle these vehicles are sanctioned for negligence or misuse of police property would police drivers stop being reckless and indisciplined. The very sophisticated vehicles launched recently, if not well managed, may soon be discarded as junk and scrap.
There are many “rough” drivers in police uniform, and I believe that must be one of the reasons the President advised the IGP not to relent: “Notwithstanding the achievements you have recorded, I charge the police leadership to avoid complacency in the efforts towards ridding the country of crimes. My vision is to bequeath to our nation a legacy of a reformed, modernised, fully-equipped, highly-motivated, and citizens-focused police force that is reoriented to the virtues of professionalism, respect for rule of law, due process and best international practices in their operations.”
Since his appointment, Adamu has not left anyone in doubt about his ability to manage the security situation in the country. Only close observers of happenings in the police could decipher the rot created by Idris immediately he took over from Solomon Arase by almost pulling down the police structure, only to leave behind a chaotic and loose structure. As 2020 rolls in, seeing the great efforts of Adamu and his 400,000 policemen and women rebuild the police, Nigerians are one with the President when he said, “I encourage you all to sustain your zeal for service to the nation.”